Creator of Onda x Libido Femme: Dr. Janine Mahon

Earlier this year, we met an exceptional Chinese herbal practitioner at a local cannabis dinner party in Los Angeles. One thing led to another, and we joined forces to create Libido Femme, our first feminine product in the Onda CBD wellness line that we are truly excited about.

Formulated by Dr. Janine Mahon, Libido Femme is a revolutionary topical serum and the product of generations of Chinese medicine combined with Onda’s whole plant infused CBD oil base. Dr. Janine’s unique blend of ancient Chinese herbs focuses on balancing the meridians to regulate hormones and boost Qi and Blood flow, encouraging optimal reproductive health, libido, and mental calm. You can see for yourself how incredible this product is via our interview with the brilliant and innovative Dr. Janine.

Dr. Janine Mahon practices in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico. She treats her patients both locally and globally with lifestyle and herbal coaching and is sharing formulas she’s been using for years both personally and professionally.

For Janine, the beauty of Chinese medicine is the foundational understanding that all things the body experiences are interconnected.

“I believe that when the static of modern life is cleared away, we know how to heal ourselves. I have discovered that my purpose is to help reignite this belief in people and support them in their healing. I teach my patients how to spark and to excite their own ability to turn around and address imbalances.”

Join us as we dive into the story of Dr. Janine and how she got to where she is now in her herbal wellness career, and why Onda and Janine came together so serendipitously to create this new line of women’s health-focused wellness products.

What, or who was your first spark of inspiration in early life?

Growing up on the wild Mendocino coast was my inspiration. I learned to embrace nature, her intense power, and her gifts with profound respect.

My parents cut down select redwoods and built the home on weekends in the same place those trees grew. When you cut down a redwood a ring of redwoods (called a ring of sisters) grow up around the fallen tree. I always felt connected to the plants and trees in Northern California. They were my first friends and still a source of deep comfort and wisdom. We also had a trail leading from the house to a river where we could freely go skinny dipping, and wild berry and mushroom picking. These were my favorite summertime activities.

My father was the town pediatrician for 37 years for a small community. He genuinely cared for all who came through his office. Dinner conversations that I overheard nightly were of patient issues and their western medicine approach. I was able to learn about the medical field, but I was drawn at a very young age to turn towards nature for answers.

What– in life and in practice– inspires you most today?

What inspires me most today is when people remember how to listen and trust themselves; knowing we are at our most optimal when in tune with the natural world around us.

For various reasons, we have become disconnected from ourselves and listen to others before we trust our own instincts. The fear of not doing enough, too much, too little, taking the wrong herbs, etc. is paralyzing for people. I love having conversations with people in my practice, sharing insight into the holistic system of Chinese medicine with my patients, and open the door to provide them with healthier lifestyle options whether it’s through acupuncture practice, herbal formulas and more.

What got you into practicing herbalism, particularly with a focus on women’s health?

Twenty years ago, I lived on the eastern Caribbean island of Grenada and next door to the village bush doctor Javi. I was five months pregnant, and at that point, I would boil water and mix it with cold to take a sponge bath, the cold was too much for my pregnant belly. Scalding water fell on my foot, leaving a blister an inch high all over the top. It was a pain I could not escape. Javi brought over a leaf picked from a nearby bush and combined it in a bottle with clear liquid, hours later, the pain was only that of a skinned knee. I have never stopped learning or believing in herbal medicine since.

I want people to believe in their own healing ability, and to know there are many options. Everything has the potential to change.

After that, I created the original Rejuvenating Breast Oil for myself after I gave birth to my daughter 18 years ago. The idea came from having breast pain and fibrous tissue as a nursing mother and did not want to rely on pharma products for pain relief.

I feel like in general in the US we don’t talk as much as we should about the beautiful complexity of women and our bodies. It can be really isolating to feel uncomfortable in your body and not have to support to understand what various signals mean.

I want people to believe in their own healing ability, and to know there are many options. Everything has the potential to change.

What about Onda Wellness perked your interest enough to agree to collaborate together?

Our mutual friends from the Cannabis special events company, Cannavore Supper, made the introduction. I knew we had a connection after learning about their CBD products and our shared desire and philosophy to provide the highest quality herbal products to consumers.

Libido Femme debut at Echo Craft Fair, Spring 2019

You can find products on shelves in every store promoting herbal medicine these days. As a healer that offers herbal remedies, I want to know how a given product was made, where it was made, by whom, grown next to what, combined with what ingredients, for what intention, harvested when, fed and watered with what, and knowing if the elements of the ingredients combine in a beneficial way– or interact in a negative way? With Onda, I received the answers that gave me the confidence I needed to genuinely share this herb with people whose main priority was to encourage their customers’ optimal health.

During one of my first conversations with Stephen, he suggested collaborating on a limited-edition product for the Echo Park Craft Fair since we would both be there in two weeks. It was a wild success because people felt the results within minutes.

How long did you study/practice Chinese herbalism and enter this way of living?

Herbalism has been integrated into my lifestyle for as long as I can remember. I started having to heal my own cervical dysplasia and found that I needed a more holistic approach than what was being offered. I turned to Chinese medicine and recovered completely. I formally started studying Chinese medicine in 2011.

Chinese medicine philosophy resonated with me because it looks to nature as our teacher. The year, season, day, time of day all connect with meridians, organs, smells, colors, flavors, and more. After completing my program there were five years where I spent a part of each year living in Taiwan were a family with many generations of healers graciously welcomed me in, and that is where I developed a much more in-depth knowledge of the medicine. I am very grateful that I learned unique ways to use herbs and also opened the door to grow my wisdom continually. It profoundly increased my passion for medicine.

You and Onda came up with this product relatively smooth and quickly, what sparked your creation of Libido Femme?

In my medical practice, I enjoy offering options for women to bring their mind and body back into balance. Part of that balance is feeling good and getting in touch again with their own desires. I suggested a topical libido formula because I have been formulating products for male and female wellness and I thought this would be a good fit. This was a perfect opportunity to collaborate with Onda’s CBD and debut it at the Echo Park Craft Fair in Los Angeles.

We are all enamored by the scents of Libido Femme, how would you describe this scent to those who have not yet experienced it?

The scent is unique to the individual. The beauty of Libido Femme is that this was created by strategically combining specific herbs for their unique properties and what they can do in collaboration. The scent is their collective potential. The scent elicits curiosity initially, which is intriguing but almost immediately wakes you up to a sweetness that feels forbidden. Pleasure is not forbidden, however, even alone, we distract ourselves from feeling pleasure emotionally and physically. The scent created by this formula is one of sweet flowers on a summer night; it is raw and a doorway to all that we are.

Thanks for tuning into another Onda Community interview! Be sure to check out drjaninemahon.com for more information regarding her products and services, and visit @drjaninemahon on Instagram to follow along with Janine.

Erin Willis is a holistic nutritionist, cannabis educator, and writer. Believing that all energies and ecological systems are connected, and that utilizing and flowing with the natural world is our answer to a thriving, balanced society, Erin has made it her life’s mission to help shift the disease-causing status quo of the Western World by debunking cannabis misconceptions, encouraging botanical-based lifestyle, and by paving the way for a modern, integrative health paradigm.

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